SCI’s Certification in General Insurance connects a common foundation with personal and commercial product knowledge. Basic Insurance Concepts and Principles explains risk, contracts and insurance principles; Personal General Insurance and Commercial General Insurance apply those ideas to different products and exposures. Study the foundation first, then compare how product sections define cover and settlement. This guide brings together sixty concepts across the published BCP, PGI and ComGI domains. Its qualitative examples connect disclosure, valuation, policy conditions and claims evidence with practical coverage decisions. They illustrate reasoning rather than reproduce examination questions. Any conclusion about a particular loss still depends on the applicable policy wording and facts.
Exam and assessment essentials
- Programme and certification structure
- CGI comprises BCP, PGI and ComGI. Personal General Insurance Certification comprises BCP and PGI; Commercial General Insurance Certification comprises BCP and ComGI. BCP is the common foundation module.[1]
- Question format and duration
- BCP: 40 multiple-choice questions in 45 minutes. PGI and ComGI: each has 50 multiple-choice questions in 1 hour 15 minutes.[1]
- Passing grade and scoring
- The minimum passing grade is 70% for each module. Each correct answer earns 1 mark; wrong and blank answers receive no mark and incur no deduction.[1]
- Examination mode
- Each module is an English-medium, closed-book Computer Screen Examination. SCI permits self-study.[1]
- Results and designation
- SCI issues a result slip rather than a certificate for the examination. Candidates who pass BCP, PGI and ComGI are eligible to use Cert SCI (General Insurance), subject to SCI's designation guidelines.[1]
- Study materials and confirmed BCP update
- SCI provides eBooks and incorporates study-text updates into them. The regulatory update notice lists BCP 8th Edition, Version 1.1, released and effective for examinations on 3 August 2026. Check the eBook's Version Control Record for applicable updates.[1][2]
- Scheduling and resits
- SCI states that English examinations are conducted daily on weekdays and that there is no limit on examination resits. Consult its examination schedule for available sittings.[1]
What the syllabus covers
This study map groups the official scope into revision themes. It is not an official chapter list or a prediction of question weightings.
BCP: Insurance market, risk and regulation
Understand market participants, risk characteristics, pooling, risk treatment, and the distinction between regulatory obligations and industry requirements.[1]
BCP: Insurance principles
Apply insurable interest, disclosure, indemnity, proximate cause, subrogation and contribution without assuming identical rules across every policy.[1]
BCP: Contracts, documents and claims
Explain contract formation, intermediary authority, policy documentation, endorsements, loss mitigation and the evidence needed to assess claims.[1]
BCP: Risk sharing and responsible conduct
Distinguish reinsurance from co-insurance and apply controls for conflicts of interest, personal data handling and cyber security.[1]
PGI: Motor and personal property
Compare motor cover levels, permitted use, driver conditions, excesses and no-claim discounts; distinguish buildings from contents and select appropriate valuation bases.[1]
PGI: Accident, travel and personal liability
Separate accident triggers, disablement benefits and expense reimbursement; analyse travel sections and personal legal liability through their own conditions.[1]
PGI: Health and specialist personal covers
Explain defined critical illness benefits, hospital cash, foreign domestic worker insurance and golfer insurance within the published PGI scope.[1]
ComGI: Property and business interruption
Assess insured damage, reinstatement, underinsurance, interruption triggers, policy-defined gross profit and the business recovery period.[1]
ComGI: Liability, motor, marine and aviation
Distinguish operational and professional liability, product injury from recall costs, business vehicle use, cargo transit, general average and aviation exposures.[1]
ComGI: Engineering, financial and employee risks
Explain construction and machinery cover, bond obligations, fidelity and credit insurance, foreign worker insurance, group personal accident and corporate travel.[1]
60 key concepts to understand
- Pure risk and commercial uncertainty
- Perils cause loss; hazards influence it
- Pooling depends on the quality of exposures
- Insurance complements other risk treatments
- Follow each participant's role in the market
- Regulatory obligations and industry rules differ
- Insurable interest follows the relationship at risk
- Material disclosure informs underwriting
- Indemnity depends on the agreed settlement basis
- Trace the effective cause through the wording
- Preserve recovery rights after an indemnity loss
- Contribution prevents duplicate indemnification
- Distinguish an application from accepted cover
- Authority depends on the particular act
- Read the policy documents as a connected whole
- Endorsements change the underlying agreement
- Mitigation and evidence support a claim
- Reinsurance supports the insurer's capacity
- Co-insurance allocates direct underwriting shares
- Manage incentives that distort recommendations
- Handle personal data for a defined purpose
- Verify unusual requests before exposing information
- Motor cover levels protect different interests
- Permitted use and driver conditions shape motor cover
- An excess leaves part of the loss with the insured
- Protecting a no-claim discount does not freeze premiums
- Motorcycle accessories and use need separate attention
- Buildings and contents follow different property interests
- Home valuation should match the settlement basis
- Personal accident cover requires the defined accident trigger
- Disablement benefits depend on the specified incapacity
- Accident expense reimbursement differs from scheduled benefits
- Travel cancellation needs a covered reason
- Overseas treatment and assistance have different functions
- Baggage claims depend on custody and evidence
- Personal liability starts with legal responsibility
- Critical illness benefits follow contractual definitions
- Hospital cash addresses eligible confinement
- Domestic worker cover separates benefits and employer obligations
- Golfer insurance covers distinct sporting exposures
- Commercial property cover follows the insured cause
- Reinstatement and underinsurance operate together
- Business interruption needs its own coverage trigger
- Policy gross profit differs from accounting profit
- Recovery extends beyond physical repairs
- Public liability must match actual operations
- Product liability and recall costs answer different losses
- Professional errors differ from operational accidents
- Commercial motor does not automatically insure carried goods
- Cargo protection follows the insured transit
- General average can affect undamaged cargo
- Aviation hull and liability protect different exposures
- Construction cover changes as the project progresses
- Machinery breakdown differs from deterioration
- A bond secures an obligation to a beneficiary
- Fidelity cover targets defined employee dishonesty
- Credit insurance depends on buyer and debt eligibility
- Foreign worker protection involves separate obligations
- Group accident benefits follow membership and scope
- Corporate travel follows eligible people and journeys
BCP: Risks and insurance
1. Pure risk and commercial uncertainty
Pure risk involves loss or the absence of loss, while speculative risk includes the possibility of gain. Conventional insurance chiefly addresses fortuitous loss exposures. A business can insure damage that interrupts trading without obtaining a guarantee that its strategy, pricing or investment decisions will succeed.[1]
Common mistake: Treating every reduction in business income as an event that insurance should cover.
BCP: Risks and insurance
2. Perils cause loss; hazards influence it
A peril is an event that causes loss, such as fire or theft. A hazard increases the likelihood or severity of that event. Physical conditions, dishonest behaviour and careless attitudes can affect underwriting differently, so identifying the hazard helps explain the insurer's questions and requested safeguards.[1]
Common mistake: Calling unsafe storage an insured peril instead of a condition that worsens exposure.
BCP: Risks and insurance
3. Pooling depends on the quality of exposures
Pooling combines many exposures so that aggregate claims can be more predictable than an individual policyholder's loss. Comparability helps insurers use past experience to assess future claims, while diversification reduces dependence on a shared event. Pooling does not remove uncertainty: catastrophe losses and changing exposure characteristics can undermine the assumptions behind the pool.[1]
Common mistake: Assuming a larger portfolio improves predictability regardless of shared hazards or changes in the insured risks.
BCP: Risks and insurance
4. Insurance complements other risk treatments
Risk treatment includes avoiding an activity, reducing its likelihood or consequences, retaining losses and transferring financial exposure. Insurance usually transfers specified financial consequences rather than the underlying hazard. Controls still matter because uninsured disruption, exclusions and retained costs can remain after a valid claim.[1]
Common mistake: Assuming buying insurance removes the need to prevent loss or plan for disruption.
BCP: Insurance and reinsurance market
5. Follow each participant's role in the market
Insurers accept insured risks, intermediaries arrange or distribute cover, and reinsurers support insurers' risk capacity. Claims specialists may investigate or assess losses without deciding every coverage issue. Keeping these roles separate helps identify who owes an obligation, who has authority and where a request should go.[1]
Common mistake: Assuming everyone involved in arranging or assessing insurance can commit the insurer.
BCP: Regulatory and industry frameworks
6. Regulatory obligations and industry rules differ
Regulatory requirements and industry association rules can both affect insurance practice, but they arise from different sources. Applicability depends on the organisation, role and activity concerned. A qualification addresses competence; it does not by itself establish every permission or authorisation needed to conduct insurance business.[1]
Common mistake: Equating an industry training rule with legislation or a qualification with unrestricted permission.
BCP: Principles of insurance
7. Insurable interest follows the relationship at risk
Insurable interest connects the insured to the subject matter through a recognised relationship that exposes them to loss. Ownership is a common example, but contractual responsibility and other recognised interests can matter. The required nature and timing of interest depend on the insurance class and applicable rules.[1]
Common mistake: Assuming ownership is the only recognised interest or emotional attachment always creates one.
BCP: Principles of insurance
8. Material disclosure informs underwriting
Material information can influence whether an insurer accepts a risk and the terms it offers. Accurate answers and disclosure obligations must be assessed under the applicable contract and law. Non-disclosure or misrepresentation can affect cover, but the remedy is not automatically identical for every error or insurance class.[1]
Common mistake: Assuming every omission produces the same remedy, regardless of materiality and applicable rules.
BCP: Principles of insurance
9. Indemnity depends on the agreed settlement basis
Indemnity compensates an insured loss according to the policy's agreed basis, subject to its conditions and limits. That basis may use depreciation or permit reinstatement without depreciation when requirements are met. Defined benefits work differently: entitlement follows the specified event rather than proof of an equivalent financial loss.[1]
Common mistake: Assuming indemnity always means depreciation or that every insurance benefit reimburses actual expenditure.
BCP: Principles of insurance
10. Trace the effective cause through the wording
Proximate cause concerns the effective cause of a loss rather than simply the last event before damage. Trace the sequence and then examine insured perils and exclusions. Concurrent causes and clauses that alter ordinary causation treatment can complicate the decision, so identifying a cause alone does not settle coverage.[1]
Common mistake: Selecting the final event automatically or ignoring exclusions after identifying an insured cause.
BCP: Principles of insurance
11. Preserve recovery rights after an indemnity loss
Subrogation allows an insurer to exercise relevant recovery rights associated with an indemnified loss. It helps prevent duplicate recovery and places responsibility on liable parties. The insured should preserve evidence and avoid prejudicing those rights; policy terms may govern cooperation and the handling of recoveries.[1]
Common mistake: Signing a release without considering how it affects the insurer's recovery rights.
BCP: Principles of insurance
12. Contribution prevents duplicate indemnification
Contribution can arise when overlapping indemnity policies respond to the same insured loss. It concerns how insurers share responsibility rather than allowing the insured to collect the loss repeatedly. Sharing depends on the applicable interests, cover and policy clauses; sums insured are not a universal allocation method.[1]
Common mistake: Assuming insurers always share by sums insured or that overlapping benefits always require contribution.
BCP: Contract and agency
13. Distinguish an application from accepted cover
Insurance requires a valid agreement, including offer, acceptance and the other requirements of contract formation. Submitting information or requesting a quotation does not necessarily start cover. Identify what was accepted, by whom and on which terms; documents and authorised communications help establish the agreement.[1]
Common mistake: Treating a quotation or completed proposal as automatic evidence that cover has started.
BCP: Contract and agency
14. Authority depends on the particular act
An intermediary's role does not establish unlimited authority. Actual authority, apparent authority and the circumstances of a transaction can affect whether a principal is bound. Brokers commonly act for insureds when arranging cover, but may undertake particular tasks for insurers under separate authority.[1]
Common mistake: Assuming an intermediary represents the same principal with identical authority for every task.
BCP: Insurance documents
15. Read the policy documents as a connected whole
A schedule identifies the insured risk and selected cover, while policy wording sets out operative clauses, exclusions and conditions. A certificate or cover note serves its particular evidential purpose. Reading only a summary can miss a restriction or special term that determines the actual protection.[1]
Common mistake: Treating a marketing summary or certificate as a complete statement of policy coverage.
BCP: Insurance documents
16. Endorsements change the underlying agreement
An endorsement can add, remove or amend cover, descriptions and conditions. Its effect must be read alongside the original wording and other amendments. Reporting a change does not necessarily mean the insurer has accepted it, so clear confirmation matters when the risk or requested protection changes.[1]
Common mistake: Assuming notification alone extends cover or that every endorsement broadens the policy.
BCP: Claims
17. Mitigation and evidence support a claim
After a loss, reasonable protective action can limit further damage while records establish what happened and what was lost. Notification, cooperation and evidence requirements come from the policy. Emergency action should balance safety, preservation and practicality rather than leaving damage unchecked merely to await inspection.[1]
Common mistake: Discarding all damaged property before documenting it or allowing preventable damage to continue.
BCP: Reinsurance and co-insurance
18. Reinsurance supports the insurer's capacity
Reinsurance transfers agreed exposure from an insurer to a reinsurer, helping manage capacity, volatility and accumulations. It is normally separate from the policy issued to the original insured. The insurer remains responsible under that policy; direct rights against a reinsurer require a specific legal or contractual basis.[1]
Common mistake: Assuming the policyholder must recover directly from the reinsurer whenever reinsurance exists.
BCP: Reinsurance and co-insurance
19. Co-insurance allocates direct underwriting shares
In the market-sharing sense, co-insurance places an insured risk with participating insurers taking agreed shares. The insured's contractual relationships differ from reinsurance behind an insurer's policy. Lead-insurer arrangements may coordinate administration, but each participant's responsibility and any authority to act for others depend on the agreement.[1]
Common mistake: Assuming a lead insurer automatically guarantees every participating insurer's contractual share of the loss.
BCP: Ethics and professionalism
20. Manage incentives that distort recommendations
Conflicts arise when remuneration, relationships or internal targets can pull a recommendation away from the customer's needs. A practical control is to identify the conflict, assess suitability honestly and follow applicable disclosure and management requirements. Disclosure alone does not make unsuitable advice acceptable.[1]
Common mistake: Believing a disclosed commission removes the need to assess suitability and explain restrictions.
BCP: Data protection
21. Handle personal data for a defined purpose
Insurance work involves sensitive customer information, making purpose, access and secure handling central controls. Collect information needed for the task and share it only through an appropriate basis and channel. Applicable consent, notification, retention and other obligations should be assessed rather than reduced to a blanket consent rule.[1]
Common mistake: Assuming possession of customer data permits unrestricted internal sharing or indefinite retention.
BCP: Cyber hygiene
22. Verify unusual requests before exposing information
Cyber hygiene combines secure access, careful verification and prompt reporting of suspected compromise. Familiar names and logos do not prove that a message is genuine. Independently checking unusual payment or information requests helps prevent account takeover and data theft, especially where urgency discourages normal controls.[1]
Common mistake: Trusting an urgent message because its display name matches a familiar insurer.
PGI: Private motor insurance
23. Motor cover levels protect different interests
Third-party cover addresses specified liabilities to others, while fire and theft cover adds selected own-vehicle losses. Comprehensive cover normally extends own-damage protection further, subject to its wording. Labels provide a starting point, but extensions, exclusions and settlement terms determine whether a particular accident or event is covered.[1]
Common mistake: Assuming comprehensive cover includes every cause of damage, accessory and consequential expense.
PGI: Private motor insurance
24. Permitted use and driver conditions shape motor cover
Motor underwriting depends on how the vehicle is used and who drives it. Personal commuting, business use and carrying goods or passengers for reward can present different exposures. Driver permissions and restrictions also matter; vehicle ownership alone does not establish that every driver or use is insured.[1]
Common mistake: Assuming an owner's permission to drive automatically satisfies the policy's driver conditions.
PGI: Private motor insurance
25. An excess leaves part of the loss with the insured
An excess defines a retained portion of an otherwise covered claim. Different excesses may apply according to the driver, event or section, and some may operate together under the wording. Compare the relevant excess with the covered loss before assuming the insurer will meet the whole repair bill.[1]
Common mistake: Applying the advertised standard excess without checking event-specific or additional driver terms.
PGI: Private motor insurance
26. Protecting a no-claim discount does not freeze premiums
A no-claim discount affects the premium according to the insurer's claims rules. Protection may preserve the discount after specified claims, but it does not necessarily prevent changes to the underlying premium or guarantee transferability. Claim reporting and discount treatment are related questions with their own requirements.[1]
Common mistake: Confusing discount protection with a guarantee that renewal premiums cannot increase after claims.
PGI: Private motorcycle insurance
27. Motorcycle accessories and use need separate attention
Motorcycle cover requires attention to permitted use, riders and the property actually insured. Accessories, modifications and riding equipment may receive different treatment from the motorcycle itself. Liability involving passengers also needs checking against the cover rather than being inferred from an own-damage section.[1]
Common mistake: Assuming every accessory, helmet and passenger exposure is automatically included with the motorcycle.
PGI: Personal property insurance
28. Buildings and contents follow different property interests
Buildings insurance concerns the structure and fixtures defined by the policy; contents insurance concerns specified possessions. Ownership, tenancy obligations and the wording determine where an item belongs. A renter may also face responsibilities for improvements or fixtures, so contents cover alone should not be assumed sufficient.[1]
Common mistake: Assuming all property inside a home belongs to the contents section of the policy.
PGI: Personal property insurance
29. Home valuation should match the settlement basis
A property's sale price is not the same as its rebuilding cost, and contents book values may not match replacement costs. Select sums insured using the policy's valuation basis. Underinsurance conditions can reduce a partial-loss settlement, while specified valuables may require separate declaration or face narrower limits.[1]
Common mistake: Using market value for buildings or assuming a general contents limit fully covers valuables.
PGI: Personal accident insurance
30. Personal accident cover requires the defined accident trigger
Personal accident insurance responds to injury satisfying its accident definition and other conditions. Illness does not become an insured accident simply because it occurs unexpectedly. Where injury and disease interact, examine the causal requirements, exclusions and benefit wording rather than relying on the everyday meaning of accidental.[1]
Common mistake: Treating every sudden medical event as an accident without checking the contractual definition.
PGI: Personal accident insurance
31. Disablement benefits depend on the specified incapacity
Permanent and temporary disablement benefits use different entitlement tests. A permanent benefit may follow a scheduled bodily loss or defined incapacity, while temporary benefits may depend on inability to perform specified work. A doctor's description of injury supports assessment but does not replace the policy's benefit definition.[1]
Common mistake: Assuming inability to do a preferred task automatically meets every disablement benefit definition.
PGI: Personal accident insurance
32. Accident expense reimbursement differs from scheduled benefits
A personal accident policy may combine scheduled injury benefits with reimbursement of eligible treatment expenses. A scheduled benefit follows its injury definition, while reimbursement depends on actual eligible costs and evidence. When another policy also covers those costs, disclose the overlap and check the coordination provisions so the same expense is not reimbursed repeatedly.[1]
Common mistake: Assuming the rules for accumulating scheduled benefits also permit repeated reimbursement of the same treatment expense.
PGI: Travel insurance
33. Travel cancellation needs a covered reason
Cancellation and curtailment cover usually responds to specified reasons affecting an insured trip, rather than every decision to change plans. Examine the event, its foreseeability, the purchase circumstances and non-recoverable expenses. A refund available from a travel provider can affect the insured financial loss.[1]
Common mistake: Assuming a change of preference or any foreseeable disruption qualifies for cancellation reimbursement.
PGI: Travel insurance
34. Overseas treatment and assistance have different functions
Travel medical cover pays eligible treatment expenses, while assistance services can coordinate care, evacuation or repatriation under their terms. Pre-existing conditions, activities and approval requirements may affect entitlement. Emergency assistance access should not be treated as confirmation that every resulting expense will be reimbursed.[1]
Common mistake: Assuming an assistance provider's involvement confirms coverage for every treatment and transport expense.
PGI: Travel insurance
35. Baggage claims depend on custody and evidence
Baggage cover distinguishes loss, damage and delay, with conditions that may address custody, unattended property and reporting. Item limits and valuation terms can restrict recovery even where the event is covered. Evidence of ownership and a carrier or police report may support different parts of the claim.[1]
Common mistake: Expecting unrestricted replacement of every item without checking custody conditions and item limits.
PGI: Personal liability insurance
36. Personal liability starts with legal responsibility
Personal liability insurance concerns covered legal liability to others, rather than paying whenever someone suffers harm nearby. Liability, the insured activity and exclusions must all be assessed. Business activities, contractual undertakings and property in the insured's custody may require different protection from ordinary personal liability.[1]
Common mistake: Assuming an apology, accident location or third-party demand automatically establishes covered legal liability.
PGI: Critical illness insurance
37. Critical illness benefits follow contractual definitions
Critical illness cover pays a defined benefit when the diagnosed condition meets the policy's stated criteria and other requirements. A broad medical label may be insufficient because severity, evidence or excluded forms can matter. The benefit is generally not calculated by matching the claimant's actual treatment bill.[1]
Common mistake: Assuming every diagnosis bearing a listed condition's name necessarily satisfies its benefit definition.
PGI: Hospital cash insurance
38. Hospital cash addresses eligible confinement
Hospital cash provides a scheduled benefit for hospital confinement meeting the policy's definition. It can help with expenses beyond treatment bills, but eligibility is separate from the size of those bills. Admission type, reason for confinement and applicable exclusions determine whether the benefit is payable.[1]
Common mistake: Treating hospital cash as full medical reimbursement or assuming every hospital visit qualifies.
PGI: Foreign domestic worker insurance
39. Domestic worker cover separates benefits and employer obligations
Foreign domestic worker arrangements can combine medical protection, personal accident benefits and other employer-related provisions. These sections have different beneficiaries and triggers. Check applicable employment requirements separately from optional policy benefits; a package description does not establish that every employer responsibility has been transferred to the insurer.[1]
Common mistake: Assuming a packaged domestic worker policy removes every employment obligation or covers every expense.
PGI: Golfer insurance
40. Golfer insurance covers distinct sporting exposures
Golfer insurance may combine equipment protection, personal accident and liability arising from golf. Each section answers a different question about property loss, injury or responsibility to others. Special benefits depend on their own wording and evidence, so they should not distract from checking the principal exposures.[1]
Common mistake: Assuming a golfing accident automatically triggers every section of a golfer insurance package.
ComGI: Property insurance
41. Commercial property cover follows the insured cause
Commercial property cover may insure listed perils or use broader accidental damage wording with exclusions. The property, location and cause must all fit the contract. Broad cover does not mean unrestricted cover: deterioration, defects and other excluded causes may affect whether damage to otherwise insured property is payable.[1]
Common mistake: Treating broad property wording as protection against every cause of physical damage.
ComGI: Property insurance
42. Reinstatement and underinsurance operate together
Commercial valuation must distinguish buildings, machinery and stock because their settlement bases can differ. Reinstatement terms may support rebuilding or replacement when their conditions are met, but do not automatically remove an average condition. Seasonal stock increases, installation costs and changes to the asset inventory can make previously adequate declared values insufficient.[1]
Common mistake: Applying the same replacement basis to every asset or assuming reinstatement wording cures inadequate declared values.
ComGI: Business interruption insurance
43. Business interruption needs its own coverage trigger
Traditional business interruption cover commonly depends on qualifying insured damage, with further requirements set by the wording. Financial loss alone does not establish entitlement. Supplier, customer or other interruption extensions can alter the trigger, but their existence and scope must be checked rather than assumed.[1]
Common mistake: Assuming every interruption or decline in turnover qualifies under ordinary business interruption cover.
ComGI: Business interruption insurance
44. Policy gross profit differs from accounting profit
Business interruption gross profit is defined by the policy and may differ from the figure in financial statements. The treatment of uninsured working expenses determines what trading margin is protected. Continuing costs and saved costs must be analysed through that definition to avoid overstating or understating the exposure.[1]
Common mistake: Copying accounting gross profit into the insurance declaration without checking the contractual definition.
ComGI: Business interruption insurance
45. Recovery extends beyond physical repairs
The interruption protection period should reflect business recovery, including rebuilding, obtaining equipment and restoring trading relationships. Physical reinstatement may finish before turnover recovers. Additional expenditure can reduce interruption loss, but its reimbursement depends on the relevant increased-cost provision and any economic or other conditions.[1]
Common mistake: Equating repair completion with full trading recovery or assuming all additional expenditure qualifies.
ComGI: Liability and contingency insurance
46. Public liability must match actual operations
Public liability addresses covered legal responsibility for injury or property damage arising from the business. Declared activities, locations and exclusions shape the protection. Work away from the premises, custody of customer property and contractual responsibilities can create exposures that require closer examination or additional cover.[1]
Common mistake: Assuming a general business description covers every activity and every item handled.
ComGI: Liability and contingency insurance
47. Product liability and recall costs answer different losses
Product liability concerns covered injury or damage caused by supplied products. Withdrawing defective goods, replacing them and restoring reputation create different expenses that standard liability wording may exclude. Recall protection, where arranged, has its own trigger and cost definitions rather than automatically following every product liability claim.[1]
Common mistake: Assuming liability cover pays to replace the defective product or fund its recall.
ComGI: Liability and contingency insurance
48. Professional errors differ from operational accidents
Professional indemnity addresses specified liability arising from professional services, including covered financial loss without physical damage. Under claims-made wording, an error's occurrence alone does not determine which policy responds: when the claim is made, notification requirements and cover for earlier work also matter. Known circumstances and the declared service scope need checking when arranging or renewing protection.[1]
Common mistake: Assuming the policy in force when the professional error occurred must respond to a later claim.
ComGI: Commercial motor insurance
49. Commercial motor does not automatically insure carried goods
Commercial motor cover must match vehicle type, permitted activities and drivers. It addresses the insured motor exposures, while goods being transported and responsibility for customers' cargo may need separate protection. Fleet administration can simplify placement, but additions and substitutions still follow the agreed declaration process.[1]
Common mistake: Assuming a commercial vehicle policy automatically insures all goods carried in it.
ComGI: Marine and aviation insurance
50. Cargo protection follows the insured transit
Cargo insurance protects goods during the transit described by its clauses, subject to attachment, termination and exclusions. Broad transit descriptions still contain boundaries. Packing, inherent characteristics and delay can affect recovery, while the sale contract helps identify which party bears risk and needs the relevant interest insured.[1]
Common mistake: Assuming transit cover continues indefinitely whenever goods remain away from their final user.
ComGI: Marine and aviation insurance
51. General average can affect undamaged cargo
General average concerns an extraordinary sacrifice or expenditure intentionally and reasonably made to preserve property from a common peril in a maritime venture. Qualifying losses are shared among contributing interests under the applicable adjustment rules, so undamaged cargo can still face a contribution. Cargo insurance may cover that contribution and support security arrangements, subject to its clauses.[1]
Common mistake: Assuming every emergency expense qualifies as general average or that undamaged cargo cannot contribute.
ComGI: Marine and aviation insurance
52. Aviation hull and liability protect different exposures
Aviation hull cover concerns insured damage to the aircraft, while liability sections concern responsibility to passengers and other parties. Aircraft use, operators, pilots and geographical scope can influence cover. Damage to the aircraft does not establish entitlement under liability sections, or the reverse.[1]
Common mistake: Treating aviation cover as an unrestricted package regardless of pilot, use and territory.
ComGI: Construction and engineering insurance
53. Construction cover changes as the project progresses
Contractors' all risks cover generally centres on building and civil engineering works, while erection all risks cover generally centres on installing machinery or equipment. Mixed projects require attention to the actual insured scope. Testing, handover and maintenance provisions can change protection, while existing property and construction plant may require separate or expressly included cover.[1]
Common mistake: Assuming a project policy automatically covers every asset and every stage merely because they relate to the same contract.
ComGI: Construction and machinery insurance
54. Machinery breakdown differs from deterioration
Machinery breakdown cover addresses specified sudden damage to machinery rather than providing a maintenance budget. Wear, corrosion and consumable parts may receive different treatment from resulting damage. Production losses following breakdown require appropriate interruption protection; repairing the machine and replacing lost trading income are separate exposures.[1]
Common mistake: Assuming breakdown cover pays routine maintenance costs and automatically replaces lost production income.
ComGI: Insurance bonds
55. A bond secures an obligation to a beneficiary
A bond involves a principal whose obligation is secured, a beneficiary and a surety. The bond wording determines when a demand is valid and what payment is due. Sureties commonly obtain recourse against the principal, distinguishing the arrangement from insurance purchased simply to absorb the principal's own loss.[1]
Common mistake: Assuming every bond requires proven default or that payment removes the principal's responsibility.
ComGI: Pecuniary insurance
56. Fidelity cover targets defined employee dishonesty
Fidelity insurance concerns specified losses caused by employee dishonesty, subject to the policy's employee, loss and discovery provisions. It does not replace reconciliation, supervision or access controls. Unexplained shortages and poor performance need investigation because neither necessarily establishes the dishonest conduct required by the cover.[1]
Common mistake: Treating any cash shortage or employee mistake as sufficient proof of insured dishonesty.
ComGI: Pecuniary insurance
57. Credit insurance depends on buyer and debt eligibility
Trade credit insurance protects specified receivables against covered non-payment events. Buyer approval, credit controls, reporting and debt eligibility can shape entitlement. A disputed invoice or an exposure outside agreed buyer terms may be treated differently from covered insolvency or default, so insurance does not eliminate receivables management.[1]
Common mistake: Assuming every unpaid invoice is covered regardless of buyer approval and contractual conditions.
ComGI: Foreign worker insurance
58. Foreign worker protection involves separate obligations
Medical protection, work injury responsibilities and other employment-related arrangements serve different purposes. Applicable requirements depend on the worker and employer circumstances, while policy sections retain their own triggers and exclusions. Arranging a medical policy does not by itself establish compliance with every work injury or employment obligation.[1]
Common mistake: Assuming foreign worker medical insurance automatically satisfies every work injury and employment requirement.
ComGI: Group personal accident insurance
59. Group accident benefits follow membership and scope
Group personal accident cover provides agreed benefits for eligible members suffering covered accidents. Membership categories, occupational descriptions and whether protection extends beyond work influence entitlement. Scheduled benefits are distinct from statutory compensation obligations and expense reimbursement, even when employers arrange these protections alongside each other.[1]
Common mistake: Assuming every employee and every accident is covered simply because a group policy exists.
ComGI: Corporate travel insurance
60. Corporate travel follows eligible people and journeys
Corporate travel cover can insure business journeys under a group arrangement, but eligibility depends on the travellers and trips defined in the contract. Personal extensions, accompanying family members and manual work may need specific treatment. Assistance, medical expenses and disruption benefits remain separate sections with their own conditions.[1]
Common mistake: Assuming all employee travel, accompanying relatives and overseas work activities are automatically covered.
How to revise for SCI CGI
1. Connect the programme's modules
Use the syllabus map to separate foundation principles from personal and commercial product applications. Study the common foundation before moving into the product modules relevant to your preparation.
2. Explain the mechanism before learning the label
For each principle, describe what problem it addresses, how it operates and what qualifies its application. Practise explaining why indemnity, contribution and subrogation do not apply identically to defined benefits.
3. Compare products by coverage decisions
Build comparison tables showing the insured interest, trigger, settlement basis, exclusions and evidence requirements. Use contrasts such as buildings and contents, product liability and recall, or motor damage and carried goods.
4. Trace a claim from event to settlement
Identify the insured person and property, establish the event, examine causation, check exclusions and conditions, then consider valuation and recovery rights. Explain which missing fact could change your conclusion.
5. Link controls to the losses they prevent
Connect disclosure, document confirmation, loss mitigation, credit controls and secure data handling to specific failures. This makes conditions easier to understand than memorising them as isolated requirements.
6. Review uncertain answers against the study text
Use the applicable SCI eBook to resolve gaps and wording-dependent distinctions. Classify mistakes by the reasoning that failed, then practise a different scenario requiring the same decision.
Test your understanding
These original learning scenarios are for revision; they are not official examination questions.
1. Storm winds remove a shop roof and rain damages the stock. Does identifying storm as the effective cause settle the claim?
Show answer and explanation
No. The causal sequence supports considering storm as the effective cause, but the property, insured perils, exclusions and any relevant causation wording still need checking. The last event is not automatically the proximate cause, and identifying an insured cause does not eliminate the remaining coverage analysis.[1]
2. A factory has reinstatement cover but has insured its machinery below the value required by an average condition. It replaces a damaged machine. Must the insurer meet the entire replacement cost?
Show answer and explanation
Not necessarily. Reinstatement establishes a settlement basis subject to its conditions. It does not remove an applicable average condition, which may reduce even a partial-loss claim because the insured value is inadequate.[1]
3. An employee receives a scheduled accident benefit and seeks reimbursement of treatment bills under overlapping policies. Should every payment be shared between insurers?
Show answer and explanation
Separate the scheduled benefit from expense reimbursement. The scheduled benefit follows its defined trigger and is generally outside indemnity contribution. Overlapping reimbursement sections require checking their coordination clauses and the covered expenditure so that the same expense is not reimbursed repeatedly.[1]
4. A food producer's contaminated goods injure consumers, and the producer withdraws unsold stock. Which coverage distinction matters?
Show answer and explanation
Claims for covered injury caused by the product concern product liability. Withdrawal, destruction and replacement expenses concern recall or other specifically arranged protection. The existence of liability cover does not establish that the producer's recall expenditure is insured.[1]
5. A delivery vehicle collision damages the van and the customer's goods inside it. Can the business assume its commercial motor policy pays for both?
Show answer and explanation
No. The vehicle damage and carried goods are different interests. Assess the motor section for the van, then check goods-in-transit or relevant liability protection for the cargo and the business's responsibility to its customer.[1]
Frequently asked questions
Is CGI a single examination?
No. CGI comprises separately assessed BCP, PGI and ComGI modules. Personal General Insurance Certification combines BCP with PGI; Commercial General Insurance Certification combines BCP with ComGI.[1]
Which certification applies to my work?
SCI links the relevant certification to the personal or commercial insurance lines handled and describes requirements affecting sales, advice and claims roles. Check the requirements applicable to your actual activities with your employer's compliance function rather than choosing solely by job title.[1]
What are the assessment format and passing grade?
BCP has 40 multiple-choice questions in 45 minutes. PGI and ComGI each have 50 questions in 1 hour 15 minutes. Each module requires 70% to pass. The examinations are closed-book, English-medium computer screen assessments, with no deduction for wrong or blank answers.[1]
Should I study BCP before the product modules?
Yes, that is SCI's stated preference because BCP supplies the foundation for the other modules. Its principles help explain why product sections use different triggers, settlement bases, conditions and claims requirements.[1]
Does this guide replace the official study texts?
No. It explains selected mechanisms across the published domains. SCI's eBooks provide the examinable detail, and their Version Control Records identify incorporated updates. The regulatory update notice referenced here confirms a BCP update; it does not establish the current edition of every CGI module.[1][2]
Does passing the modules authorise me to conduct every insurance activity?
The qualification addresses competence and designation eligibility; it should not be treated as unrestricted authorisation. SCI states that passing BCP, PGI and ComGI establishes eligibility for Cert SCI (General Insurance), subject to its designation guidelines. Applicable regulatory and organisational requirements still need separate assessment.[1]
Official sources and review notes
Public IBF and SCI sources were checked on 10 October 2026 for syllabus scope and assessment details, with additional primary references where listed. References identify the relevant syllabus or subject source; explanations and examples are original teaching material. This guide selects important concepts and does not replace the full official study text. Confirm the applicable edition and any updates with the administrator before your assessment.